“A new step forward”: TotalEnergies brings advanced recycling to its PP plant in US

06 Feb 2024 --- TotalEnergies has converted feedstocks from plastic waste into circular polymers “for the first time” in the US at its PP plant in La Porte, Texas. The company will produce sustainably certified polymers suitable for various applications, including food-grade packaging.

“After Europe, this first production of circular polymers from advanced recycling in the US is a new step forward in our commitment to meeting the global market’s growing demand for more innovative and sustainable plastics, as well as in our ambition to produce one million tons of circular polymers a year by 2030,” says Heather Tomas, vice president of Polymers Americas at TotalEnergies.

The company details that the petrochemical feedstock was provided by New Hope Energy’s advanced recycling facility in Tyler, Texas. 

The feedstock was converted into monomers at the BASF TotalEnergies Petrochemicals (BTP) facility — a 60/40 joint venture between BASF and TotalEnergies based in Port Arthur, Texas — before being transformed into circular polymers at TotalEnergies’ PP plant in La Porte, Texas.

TotalEnergies and New Hope Energy have also signed a multi-year agreement under which New Hope Energy will supply TotalEnergies with petrochemical feedstock made from plastics to produce recycled polymers.

New Hope Energy uses a patented pyrolysis technology developed with Lummus Technology to process and convert mixed plastic waste. 

“This supply agreement is an important step toward achieving New Hope’s goal of creating pyrolysis projects at a scale that will materially improve the nation’s plastic recycling performance,” remarks Rusty Combs, CEO of New Hope Energy.

TotalEnergies is developing different plastic recycling processes and using renewable feedstock to contribute to its ambition to produce one million tons of circular polymers by 2030. The company also recently partnered with Aramco and SABIC to turn oil derived from plastic waste into ISCC+-certified circular polymers. 

Edited by Radhika Sikaria